The present invention relates to lasers and, more particularly, to a dye laser having a multiple number of features, including that of modular construction, providing the capability of conversion from linear to ring operation.
In recent year, dye lasers have attracted much attention as a research tool because of their ability to provide coherent radiation over a comparatively large segment of the optical radiation spectrum. As used herein, "optical radiation" is meant to encompass electromagnetic radiation in the visible portion of the spectrum as well as that in the ultra-violet and near infrared portions capable of lasing operation in typical laser optical cavities.
While dye lasers are becoming more frequently used, they suffer from several draw backs. For example, most dye lasers now available either have a linear or ring (closed loop) optical cavity and are incapable of being converted from linear to ring operation, or vice versa. Moreover, most dye lasers now available are relatively limited with respect to the number of different kinds of operations which can be conducted intracavity of the same. This is becoming increasingly frustrating to researchers desirous of utilizing the broad spectrum capabilities of dye lasers to obtain coherent radiation for such analytical endeavors as optical spectroscopy.